Question

NEW DELHI—In India’s space center on the barrier island of Sriharikota, the white-jacketed scientists held their breaths.

The country’s trusty red-and-white satellite launch vehicle had lifted off moments before and blasted into orbit.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-37 was about to perform a delicate maneuver(操纵，任务)—carefully sending 104 satellites into the heavens, the highest number ever attempted in one mission. One Indian space analyst on television likened the complicated maneuver to dropping children at different bus stops.

About 10 a.m. Wednesday, the announcement came: All the satellites had been successfully launched. The scientists breathed a collective sigh of relief, and backslapping and applause followed.

“This is a great moment for each and every one of us. Today we have made history,” project manager B. Jayakumar said afterward. The total number of satellites far outstripped(超过) the previous record—37 at the same time sent into space by Russia in 2014.

Wednesday’s launch was another success for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which is rapidly gaining a reputation globally for its effective yet low-cost missions.

India had already sent up dozens of satellites, including 20 in one launch last year.

In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to send a probe(探测器) into orbit around Mars, a $74 million effort that, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted at the time, cost less than what it took to make the Hollywood space movie “Gravity”.

The fierce national pride that resulted after that success sent the Mars probe rocketing onto the face of the country’s new 2,000 rupee($30) currency note (钞票) in November.

“Now India is showing its competitiveness in the $300 billion global space market,” said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Rearch Foundation in New Delhi.

1.What does the underlined word “likened” mean in the 3rd paragraph?

A. contributed

B. compared

C. preferred

D. tied

2.What does India’s Prime Minister Modi imply according to the 8th paragraph?

A. The 104-satellite maneuver cost less money than the film “Gravity” did.

B. Shooting a film is always more expensive than launching a rocket.

C. The Mars probe rocketing is characteristic of being low in cost.

D. All real explorations are cheaper than virtual ones.

3.The way India adopted to show the significance of the Mars probe rocketing is equal to the way Chinese government use ________ in China.

A. Chairman Mao Zedong’s portrait

B. a picture of the Long-march rocket

C. a picture of the Three-gorges(峡谷) project

D. President Xi Jinping’s portrait

4.It can be inferred that after the success in the 104-satellite launch, India will ________.

A. become No. 1 in the global space market

B. take up a larger market share in the future

C. show its ability among local competitors

D. have an order of $300 billion

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】本文为介绍说明文。文章介绍了印度使用火箭发射车发射了极地卫星运载火箭C -37，将104颗卫星成功送入了太空。

1.词义猜测题。A. contributed贡献；B. compared比喻；C. preferred更喜欢；D. tied系。根据划线词所在句的句意“印度电视台的一位空间分析家把复杂的动作……在不同的车站停下来让孩子下车”可推知，划线词意为“比喻为”。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据第八段中的cost less than what it took to make the Hollywood space movie “Gravity”（ 比好莱坞太空电影《地心引力》花费的要少）可推知，印度总理暗示火星探索火箭的一个特色就是成本低。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的描述可知，火星探索火箭的图片出现在印度新版2,000卢比的钱币上，由此推知，印度重视这一成就的方式和中国将毛泽东的画像印刷在钱币上是一样的。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据倒数第一段中的Now India is showing its competitiveness in the $300 billion global space market（现在印度在全球3000亿美元的太空市场中展示了它的竞争力）可推知，印度这次成功发射104颗卫星将使它在未来太空市场中占据更大的份额。故选B。

【名师点睛】

阅读理解是每套英语试题中的重头戏，需要大家特别重视。其中词义猜测题是比较难的题目。如第1小题 “What does the underlined word ‘likened’ mean in the 3rd paragraph?”，要求猜测划线词likened的意思，根据前文carefully sending 104 satellites into the heavens（小心地将104颗卫星送入天空）及划线词所在句One Indian space analyst on television likened the complicated maneuver to dropping children at different bus stops.（印度电视台的一位空间分析家把复杂的动作liken在不同的车站停下来让孩子下车），由此推知，划线词意为“比喻，比作”。在分析四个选项，A. contributed贡献；B. compared比喻；C. preferred更喜欢；D. tied系。从而确定正确答案是B项。在做此类题目时，一定要正确把握句意、上下文语境，不能主观臆断。此外，大家在日常学习过程中，一定要加强词汇积累，只有词汇基础雄厚了，阅读中存在的词汇障碍才会少，阅读思路才能顺畅。